An explanation for all Delegates to the County Convention

Submitted by Scott County De... on April 24, 2020

Once again in Iowa we are making history. It may not be so obvious, but we are transitioning to a more inclusive Caucus to Convention process. Even before the Corona Virus hardship hit us with such a vengeance, changes were occurring. The newest, and not well understood, change is how delegates are measured throughout the process and how that has altered the evolving alignment with campaigns.

So first, an explanation for all Delegates to the County Convention. On Caucus night, jubilant Scott County attendees aligned and re-aligned to form viable groups in their individual precincts, electing Delegates and Alternates representing these campaigns: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Yang, and Other/Uncommitted. When those numbers were combined across the County, four campaigns emerged as viable, meaning that the preference group obtained at least 15% of the County’s State Delegate Equivalents. The viable campaigns in Scott County are Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sander and Elizabeth Warren. These viable groups are still intact despite candidates making difficult decisions to end their campaigns.

When you registered for the County Convention you entered the process representing a candidate included in the broader pool of campaigns (i.e, all of the above). If you are a Delegate for the viable groups (Biden, Buttieieg, Sanders, Warren) you will remain with that group. You will not realign. Only Delegates who registered in support of a now non-viable group (Klobuchar, Yang, Other/Uncommitted) can realign. Therefore, your ballot reflects your relationship to a viable group, either as “dancing with the guy or gal that brought you to the dance” or “finding an engaging new dance partner”.

We hope this, in a nut shell, helps to clarify this new alignment process.